Even Heroes Cry
by raikouplush
Summary: A one shot non-romance between Snipe and Power Loader. Deals with nightmares and loss. Rated T for violence and nightmares.


Staring into his fifth mug of beer, Maijima Higari purposely swept his red hair out from in front of his face. The gay bar this deep into the city was not the nicest to heroes but it was the only one where people would not recognize him. It was said that the bar would allow all entry, Hero or Villain, but only if they left their jobs at the door. He had tried four other normal bars but civilians had outed him or kept buying drinks in an attempt to take the middle aged pro hero home. When he had entered the Hung Stallion he had given the name 'Crimson' and has listed his preference as asexual. The bouncer had nodded, and asked his purposed in attending. When he said he was here to forget the man had handed him a black rubber bracelet and instructed him to wear it at all times to prevent confusion.

This little device, surprisingly, was respected by most of the establishment. Those looking for hook-ups would send an occasional glance his way but would see his wrist and leave him be. Those who were too drunk to know better were quickly escorted away by their friends. A few larger men had taken a seat across from him, but each had also been wearing a black bracelet. They just wanted to talk for a few minutes, which the disguised pro-hero obliged. He had gone through a few different seat fellows when another walked up. He was taller than the others, with a red bandana covering his hair and sunglasses even inside of the dark bar. They had both sat in silence and drank a few beers before Maijima decided to break the relative quiet of the table.

"We can all tell you lost someone recently," Raijin said when Maijima had asked why everyone was leaving him be. "Here at the Hung Stallion we use false names and black bands to show those in mourning. Its a unique code but it serves us well. It means that you don't want to sleep with someone and instead just want to talk and get your mind off things. Want me to go grab you another beer or do you want to talk about your friend?"

Downing the drink like a man in the desert, Maijima decided to open up to the man. He explained that he was a teacher, that he helped high school students learn a trade. They had been learning about chemicals that day and one of the students had been messing around rather than paying attention. "He mixed things that were never meant to be mixed," Maijima said as he set his chin on his hands. "This kid, he blew up the lab. He took seven other brats with him who had refused to wear the proper protective gear. I should have paid more attention and removed the vials from his hands or noticed the lack of the proper jackets. The parents weren't even mad. They apologized to me as if I deserved it."

"That's rough man," Raijin said as he removed his bandana and let his long black dreads hang. " But it ain't your fault. I lost someone today too. A long time colleague. A quirkless woman who loved life. She got in front of a fire breathing villain trying to give her co-workers a chance to escape. I know the feeling. I don't blame either of them. The villain was just trying to get free and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time." As he finished, Raijin removed his sunglasses and placed them on top of his head as a sort of hairband.

In his drunken state, Maijima did not recognize that he was talking to a co-worker of his. Then again, if he had been sober he may have still not recognized the man. Outside of UA and outside of work, Snipe barely resembled the cowboy he dressed as. Rather than a red cape, chest armour and chaps he was wearing a button up polo and a pair of tight jeans. His face, which was hidden by a mask when on duty, was a deep ebony while his blue eyes glittered with pain and understanding.

He had barely recognized his co-worker Power Loader and had been surprised to see him in the bar. It took glances for Snipe to confirm that it was his co-worker. Only when the red hair had fallen in front of the other mans face did he notice. It was clear that the other man had been wearing a wrist based hologram to hide his identifying claws. Smart move, but made identification difficult. In fact it had been the first time the teacher had seen any of his co-workers in the Hung Stallion. It was his place away from the job, a place to cut loose and drink in the safety of other men without women trying to pick him up due to his exotic looks. To sate curiosity he had started up a conversation with the man and had quickly realized why no one had seen the teacher on campus after the accident.

"Look man I don't do this for many people," Snipe said carefully as he noticed the bartender watching the two of them. "I am not trying to hook up with you but you are clearly well past your limit. Do you want a ride home?"

"I got a black band buddy," Maijima said loudly as he waved his wrist. "I do not want to sleep with you."

Well aware that the bartender was slowly making his way over Snipe cursed his luck. He came here to escape but now he found himself saddled with a fellow drunken professor who was beginning to make a scene. He had never been drunk with the other hero before, but it was becoming quickly obvious that the middle aged man was a loud drunk. He could leave him here and act as if it was all a misunderstanding but that would be wrong. Who knew what would happen once the hero got more drinks in him?

"Got a problem Raijin," the bartender asked as he approached and removed his gloves to reveal sharp silver nails. "I have never had issues with you but you know the rules of black bands here. Do I need to remove you?"

"Joe, this man is a co-worker," Snipe whispered as he pulled the bartender close. "Hero. He is drunk off his ass and will cause issues if he is here much longer. Help me get him out."

The patrons who had been paying attention politely looked away when Joe had ended up in Snipe's lap. Though it was alright to ogle others and hook up, the bartender was off limits. So was the knowledge of his escapades. Being the man that kept the drinks flowing and people safe gave him discretion as no one wanted to upset the one who could effortlessly toss them out.

"Alright Raijin," Joe replied in a slightly raised voice. "I know you pull shifts at Mustufa Hospital so you are safe. I'll quirk ya to the safe house. Ring me when he is feeling better and I will return his keys." "But if you do anything to him," Joe continued in a whisper that was barely audible over the music. "I swear I will rip you to shreds and make sure all of the media knows. Are we clear?"

Nodding, Snipe knew that the bartender was not playing. He had done just that to the previously ranked 28st hero last month. Within an hour of him breaking the bars trust he had been delivered to the nearest police station in a coma and missing ribbons of flesh. The man had not awoken, and died four hours later in a hospital. The next morning all of the local papers had ran the story delivered by an anonymous source that the Shark Hero had assaulted a young man after supplying drinks. Pictures had been sent as well, causing the once respected hero to be buried in a nameless plot in the villain cemetery in the poorest part of town rather than his families crypts.

The nod must have been confirmation enough as the bartender snapped. For a moment, Snipes vision was blasted with bright light and then he was sitting on the floor. Sprawled over the couch lay his co-worker, clearly more drunk than he had assumed. The transport often awoke even the most sloshed but Maijima had not even moved. Concerned for his fellow hero, Snipe got up and tried to supress the dizziness he felt.

"Hey Power Loader, you ok," Snipe asked as he walked unsteadily towards the hero. "Come on, answer me man." There was no reply, but at least he was alive. The red haired heroes pulse was strong, and his breathing calm and regular.

Carefully lifting the smaller hero into a fireman's carry he made his way towards the bedroom in the back. There was an unfortunate problem. Both of the men's clothes were covered in silver dust and alcohol from the transport, Maijima's more than his own. Carefully placing the hero on the bed, he professionally and swiftly removed the other man's clothes and grabbed some from the dresser that the bartender kept stocked. He had worked enough shifts at the hospital during his internships that he knew how to dress an unconscious victim. It was still a bit uncomfortable as he knew the man, but it was necessary. Taking the soiled clothes to the laundry, Snipe grabbed a set of spare clothes for himself and ran a load for the both of them. With nothing to do for the next few hours, the tall man settled into the kitchen chair and began to brew coffee.

_Maijima's dreams were far from peaceful. He was back at school, watching the rash idiot tossing the capped vial of highly explosive materials back and forth with his telepathy. The brat had always loved to do this and he had never dropped materials before nor had he picked up dangerous ones. He used his quirk to aid in building as well so he was not able to completely outlaw its usage. Most students who went into support had some form of odd behaviour and so he had overlooked this one. He had not paid enough attention, and the class was about to pay for that. _

_Now in third person, Power Loader watched as the memory version of himself walked over to correct a girl who was incorrectly attempting to build a nuclear powered chest reactor. She had got her inspiration from an old superhero comic but had forgotten that they were quite inaccurate. From his position in the corner of the classroom, Power Loader was able to see as he bumped the brats table slightly. This bump was minor, causing barely any vibration. However it had been enough for the student who had precariously perched the vial and was showing off. The telepathy that had been holding up the vial was shaken, causing the item to fall to the desk. _

_Less than a moment after its fall, the support classroom exploded. Being in the back and behind a clear blast screen that was required for nuclear builds had saved the professor and the female student. Everyone else was not so lucky. It was not supposed to be an explosive materials day and as such none of the students had donned protective gear. The explosion was quick and violent, with no one able to even scream as the brilliant white flames consumed the teens where they sat. Power Loader was knocked forward into the wall, smacking his armoured helm into steel plates. This rendered the teacher semiconscious as the student he had been working with was crushed under the mech suit she had been building the reactor for. Her screams he did hear, as he had been semiconscious and fighting to stay awake. It was piercing, filled with agony as they dropped off into a wet gurgle. _

_Maijima knew that he was seeing this only due to watching the security cameras but it was still a hard watch. All of his students, dead in a flash and the steel wall facing the outside exploded like a kernel of popcorn. The flames were quickly extinguished by the automated systems, however there was nothing left of the front part of the room. A six foot crater was quickly filling with water from broken pipes while the ill fitting blue sky showed through what had been the ceiling of Lab 3. Unable to hold back his tears anymore, the teacher broke down into heaving sobs as the memory continued as rescuers arrived._

Snipe had barely been able to sip at his freshly made coffee before a broken sob echoed from the bedroom. Realizing that he was now on drunk duty, he sat the cup down and walked down the short hallway. As he continued the walk, the sobs got louder and the Pro-Hero found himself worried. Had his co-worker received injuries that he had told no one about during the explosion? Had someone overpowered Joe and gotten access to the safe house?

Without bothering to knock, Snipe broke down the door and quickly analysed the room as he withdrew a pistol from his jeans. There was no villain attacking his helpless colleague, and just as comforting there was no blood staining the white sheets. Sliding the gun back into his waistband, Snipe walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. From the sweat and heat pouring from the other man's brow as well as the eyes dancing behind closed eyelids he could tell that this was a nightmare, and a rather bad one. It was vivid too if the tears streaking down his face were anything to go by. There were a few options to solve this, but most involved waking the man to talk about things. Considering his own claws could shred the other hero to pieces, as well as dig through about any surface Snipe knew that waking the man was not an option.

"Damn, I hope I can explain this in the morning before you murder me," Snipe muttered as he pulled the now sobbing fellow teacher into his arms.

This calmed the vivid nightmares, within moments Power Loader had been reduced to quiet sobs. After a few more minutes, Snipe tried to release the other hero. This had only caused the nightmare to begin again, which left him in am awkward position.

"We are definitely talking in the morning," Snipe muttered as he fell backwards onto the bed, taking the other hero with him. "And we are going to have a chat about your alcohol tolerance."

They never had that chat about either thing. The next morning Snipe woke up to an empty bed, and a carefully written yet short note from Joe. It had stated that the only reason he was not dead was the video footage showing he had done nothing to his co-worker as well as his insistence that he was innocent. Snipe's normal hero costume had been left neatly folded at the foot of the bed, causing the hero to wonder exactly how much Joe knew about each patron.

After getting dressed and moving the pistols to their normal holders, the teacher had checked his phone and seen a single text from an unknown number. "Thanks for being a bro," was all it said. It was clearly from Power Loader, but Snipe understood the subtext. The man was thankful, but had clearly wanted this to be forgotten and not discussed.

"I can do that," Snipe muttered into the empty room. A silver flash quickly surrounded the teacher after his comment and he found himself by the teachers gate of UA. He had slept too late to be the first arrival, with many of the teachers inside working on lesson plans. Though many of the other heroes would make light-hearted remarks about the "glitter" covering his costume only he and one other knew where the dust had come from.

Neither wished to tell.


End file.
